Now and Then
by Indigo Tantarian
Summary: Grand Master Dashi didn't feel like disappearing after he trapped Wuya for the second time. Jack Spicer caught his eye, and he decided he was up for a little challenge... But Jack just wants to be evil! Rating and category subject to change on a whim.
1. Prologue

**Now and Then  
**

Notes: So here's the deal. I haven't really written anything non school-related in ages, and I recently decided that Xiaolin Showdown is the new love of my life. I'm not sure if this will go anywhere, be any good, or even last long enough to have an ending. We'll see! I just thought it would be irresistibly fun to try to stick two of my favorites together. This may turn romantic at some point, but I doubt it at the moment. No pairings right now. …Well, okay, some implied RaiKim and possibly others, but no pairings that matter. There are spoilers all over, too. Go watch the whole series, it's on YouTube. Very useful!

This begins when Raimundo opens Grand Master Dashi's second puzzle box… And goes from there to either after the end of the series or some time around then.

For those who are confused, I don't own Xiaolin Showdown.

**Prologue**

"Dashi!" the Heylin witch cried, drawing back angrily.

The ghostly grand master grinned in delight. "Whoa, Wuya! The years have _not_ been kind!" Before she could ready an attack he flew at her, pulling at her physical form with his chi and watching it fall away. The puzzle box that the young dragon of wind held sucked at the now-ghostly purple form.

"NOOOOOOOoooooo!" screamed Wuya as she disappeared. Dashi made sure the box stayed shut before turning to the Brazilian teen, who seemed rather shocked at Dashi, Wuya, and himself.

"Well done, dragon of the wind," said Dashi with a rare, entirely sincere smile and a thumbs-up. The boy turned to his friends with a grin as Dashi faded from view.

…But having put so much effort into getting here, why move on now? Dashi watched as the teenagers fled the crumbling tower. Four elemental dragons, one… well, dragon, and another kid. It was a boy with deathly pale skin, red eyes, and red hair who had some sort of machine allowing him to fly. Clearly not a Xiaolin dragon, by the look of his aura. When a bridge collapsed under the group, he paused long enough to watch the tiny dragon expand and catch the others, and grabbed its tail to join them in riding to safety.

"Huh!" the ghost said quietly to himself. "Dojo! We'll have to do some catching up when he's got a minute." He flew invisibly alongside the dragon and examined the riders. He'd met Omi, of course. A good kid, but way too serious. He'd get tired of living before he hit twenty, at that rate. Well no, probably not, what with that endless curiosity and wonder at the world. But still, he could have so much more fun with life.

Not like the dragon of the wind. Wind just tended to attract the best personalities, Dashi thought smugly to himself as the redhead lost his grip and had to use his backpack once more. Changing like the wind, seeing all sides of life, easygoing, carefree… Really, how much better could a person get?

Earth seemed good for the one in the hat. He just oozed down-to-earth sensibility and rock-solid loyalty. Probably as reliable as gravity, too. Not the element for him, but Dashi had always had a lot of respect for the patience of most earth dragons.

The dragon of fire clearly had at least the beginnings of a crush on the wind boy, if Dashi was any judge of things romantic (and in general, he was). Passionate, hot-tempered… yeah, fire and wind went well together.

And there was that poor sickly-white kid again, flailing around through the clouds of dust and debris. Making a mental note to look into that when he felt like it, Dashi followed Dojo to the Xiaolin temple.

* * *

Ohh, man, I could sleep for a week!" moaned Dojo, sprawling out in one of the temple's inner rooms. The monks were resting, and he had every intention of doing the same until…

"I seem to recall you trying that a few times before," said a familiar voice. "You even managed it a time or two."

"Ah! Wha- Da-!" Dashi made a casual gesture, and Dojo's voice was silenced. His mouth continued moving for a solid three minutes afterwards. The ancient spirit merely smiled as he watched.

"Finished yet?" he asked with a grin. Dojo glared. "I'll let you talk, just keep it quiet, okay? You know the extra attention's just too much hassle for me." He performed the gesture in reverse.

"How could you do that to me? As if I'd go telling everyone… I'm not completely tactless, you know!" the dragon huffed. "What're you doing here, anyway? I saw you disappear, figured you finally moved on."

"When there's still fun to be had and chores to sleep through?" Dashi snorted, grinning. "Not likely! So how's life been treating you? I see you've been eating well, at least," he said, with a playful jab at Dojo's midsection.

"Hey, I need to keep up my strength," the dragon said defensively. "All those Wu revealing themselves these days, and I always get used as the workhorse!"

"So I saw," Dashi agreed, letting his old friend keep his pride this once. "And by the way, I'm pretty impressed with this batch of Xiaolin dragons."

"Heh, pretty good, huh?" Dojo said proudly. "I'm helping to train them. They're all pretty good kids. Might be as good as you guys, some day."

"Maybe some day," Dashi agreed with a small grin. "So I want to know everything that's going on. Oh, first, before I forget, who was that other kid with you guys back there, with the red hair?"

"Oh, him!" Dojo laughed a little derisively. "That was Jack Spicer. Thinks he's evil incarnate. Tries pretty hard, but he's not too great at it. He's been teamed up with Wuya for a while, but he pretty much just tries to go with the winner. Even helped us on purpose once or twice. Kind of a clown. Two-faced, but harmless." Dojo shrugged.

"Hm, interesting…" Dashi muttered. Sounded almost wind-like. Might be worth another look. But in the meantime…

"So, how 'bout the past 1500 years or so, while I was getting some beauty sleep?"

* * *

"Well, you look pretty beat," said Dashi cheerfully, a few hours later. The little dragon was drooping noticeably. "I think I'll take a little spin around, maybe drop in a place or two… but I'll definitely be back to see you again! …Oh, and how 'bout you keep my visits on the down-low, at least for now?"

"Sure, of course," Dojo said with a yawn.

"Good, because… I'd hate to have to get into a discussion about those recurring dreams of yours. The ones you enjoyed so much? You still have those these days?" the grand master asked with an almost innocent smile.

"You promised you wouldn't mention that ever, ever again!" Dojo squeaked out, eyes wide.

"Of course I wouldn't," Dashi said with an easy smile. "Because I know _you_ are a dragon of your word. See you later, old friend."

Dojo waved with a worried smile as the ancient monk faded into invisibility.

* * *

When Dashi took a vacation, he took his time. He saw the sights. He revisited old haunts, and made new ones. He checked up on dormant Shen Gong Wu, when he happened to be in the neighborhood. He saw some Xiaolin Showdowns. He visited Dojo again. He crept up on the occasional small child throwing a tantrum and said, "Boo." Some of them didn't wet themselves. He ran into Master Monk Guan, and that was a good time. Could've been better with the others, but probably the best this time could offer.

He checked up on some other old friends as well. Wuya was about the same as he remembered (and he was just slightly vexed that she escaped from her prison so quickly this time), but she didn't seem quite as quick-witted. She didn't give any sign of recognizing, or even sensing his presence. Chase Young, on the other hand, clearly knew something was off. Sharp as a pin, that one. Dashi couldn't help but be disappointed, though. He and Chase had always understood each other so well, got each others' jokes…

One of Chase Young's visitors who Dashi noticed outside his former friend's lair was familiar.

_That's right, the redhead kid_, Dashi thought to himself, watching said kid trying to butter up the ancient warrior, and failing pretty badly. It wasn't long before he was tossed out with a chorus of growls. The boy picked himself up and brushed himself off, looking rather hurt, but then turned back with a hopeful grin.

"O-okay! Maybe tomorrow then, huh?" There was no answer. His backpack sprouted helicopter blades, and he flew off into the afternoon sky.

_More puppy-like than evil… A need for approval dripping from every pore… Optimism too, not the most common combination_, Dashi thought, following behind the boy. _I wonder…_

* * *

So, worth continuing? I have another chapter and a half, and it will get better. There will be more Jack, and lots of him. Let me know! 


	2. Chapter 1

**Now and Then**

I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. It and its characters are copyright Christy Hui.

Lots of suggestiveness here. Shield your eyes if you're easily offended! But this is my favorite chapter.

**Chapter 1**

"So _you're_ the one who let Wuya out!"

The pale boy whirled around to find himself face to face with a ghost. He was used to that, actually. But this wasn't the purple octopus-like witch in a mask. It was a man. A man who was decidedly lacking in the legs department. Jack Spicer let out a high scream and scurried over to put his work table between himself and the spirit.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" he sputtered, clutching the edge of the table for dear life. "Get out of my Evil Lair!"

"Evil lair?" The translucent man looked around with apparent interest. "I've seen a few of _those_, and I'd say this one's just a little dim and slightly creepy. Now, you take some of your caves with near-zero visibility and all those stalag-things stuck all over, maybe some slithery sounds and moans coming from the dungeons, _that_ kind of thing smacks of evil." He looked around again. "You even got a dungeon in this place?"

"I-I'm getting the carpets cleaned," Jack said, which was reaching a bit. Actually, his mom was doing laundry, and he'd thrown in the dish towel he usually kept in the makeshift pen under the stairs. "…Shut up!"

The ghost laughed delightedly, his gaze following Jack's furtive glance to the 'dungeon.' "Too funny! What do you call yourself, anyway?"

"Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius and Evil Prince of Darkness!" Jack said smugly, unable to resist the opportunity to strike a pose.

"Hm, not so sure I see it myself," the spirit said with a shrug. "But if you say so."

"Hey, shut up already," Jack muttered resentfully. "Who're you, anyway?"

"Grand Master Dashi," the ancient master said with a not-quite-careless shrug. "Maybe you've heard of me? Made all your Shen Gong Wu? Wuya and I go way back."

Jack's eyes had gone wide. His mouth fell open. He made an oddly strangled squeaking noise. Dashi looked on in amusement.

"_The_ Grand Master Dashi?"

" 'Fraid so."

"Grand Master?"

"Oh, pretty grand."

"_Dashi_?"

"That's me."

"But- but you're-"

"Dead? Yeah, it's a real downer sometimes."

"No! …Well yeah, obviously, but-"

"Ohhh, I see where this is going…"

"DON'T KILL ME, PLEASE!"

Jack fell to his knees before the ghost, pleading with him.

"Um, number one? I'm not solid," said Dashi, wiggling his fingers in Jack's hands and making him shiver. "Besides, I don't go in for killing random kids, even if they do claim to be against everything I stand for."

"Hey! I'm evil to the bone! Hard-core evil, here!" Jack protested.

"What, you want me to kill you anyway, or something?" asked the Grand Master, amused. "You didn't strike me as the suicidal type."

"No, _no_!" Jack shrieked, unsure of the best course of action. He didn't like renouncing evil. But he wasn't suicidal, it was true.

"Let me tell you something, kid," the ghost said, swirling around Jack. "I've seen a lot of good and evil in my day. And I haven't met a human yet who was pure evil. Or pure good."

"But-" interrupted Jack.

"Oh I'm nowhere near it, believe me," the spirit said with an easy laugh. "Neither are your monk friends, or anyone else. And I don't count Chase Young, he was tricked into it. The real- well, the first Chase Young isn't evil. And now he's not really human either." Dashi looked sad for the first time. "Such a shame… He was a good friend."

"What was he like?" Jack whispered, glancing about fearfully as if the ancient warrior would pop out of the shadows at any minute.

"You've never seen such a great warrior," said Dashi, an appreciative gleam in his eye. "Or maybe you have. But he was the nicest guy you could hope to meet. And what a laugh! That guy had the greatest sense of humor." The ancient master smiled, remembering his friend as he had been. Then he shook his head slightly. "But anyway, what's done is done. You would've liked him, though."

"I like his evil side just fine," Jack piped up defensively.

Dashi grinned, his gaze a little more penetrating than Jack liked. "Oh, I can see that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked hotly, going slightly red.

"Nothing. It's good to have someone you admire. Everyone should," Dashi said with a shrug and an odd little smile.

"Oh. Yeah. Yeah, it is," said Jack, a little bewildered. "He's my evil hero, you know."

"Ever looked into having a good hero, too?"

"What?" Jack asked incredulously. "Hey, I told you, I'm evil. EVIL!" He pounded the table.

"I heard you, relax," Dashi said, covering a smile.

"Hmph, good. Besides, who would it be, _you_?" Jack asked with a derisive sneer.

"Oh no, I can't stand fans and worshippers," Dashi said, shaking his head.

"Then why even bring it up?"

"It's just- well I thought an evil genius would understand _far_ better than anyone good. Evil's just better at this kind of thing, for some reason."

"Wait, what?" Jack asked, confused. "What are you talking about, anyway?"

Dashi grinned. _Too easy._

"Remind me, what's the mission of every Xiaolin monk?"

"Tch, to fight for Good and destroy Evil," Jack muttered, waving a finger around in the air in mock-celebration. "Duh."

"Wrong!" Dashi said with a grin, pointing at Jack's nose. "It's to keep the balance of good and evil in the world. And there does happen to be some pretty strong evil around, but there's a lot of good, too. Some of it just as strong as the evil."

"Heh, I don't know about that," said Jack, smirking. "We're pretty impressive here on the Heylin side."

"Oh, no doubt!" Dashi chuckled. "But I meant that sometimes the Xiaolin dragons tend to sway the balance too far in favor of good." He shrugged. "It started off well enough back in my day, but you know how things go after a visionary leaves. Somebody else picks it up and gets it dead wrong." He flashed the boy genius a smug smirk.

"Yeah, the same thing happens to me when I leave the others for a while… or even when I don't," Jack said with a frown. "They're always stealing my ideas and betraying me and stuff."

"Always?" Dashi asked, not quite casually.

"Just about. Whenever they've got two minutes to think about it," Jack said, flopping down in a chair. "Or sometimes when they don't."

"That must get kind of old after a while," the spirit remarked.

"Oh, does it ever! The others don't seem to care, it happens to them a lot too, but I wouldn't mind some loyalty from my teammates!" The red-haired boy rolled his eyes and rested his chin on his arms on the table. "The best I've got are my Jackbots. And they get beat up almost as much as I do." He made a face and flicked a bit of wire off the table to bounce off a heap of scraps on the floor.

"Sounds pretty rough," Dashi commented, examining the arms and legs of a Robo Jack.

"Yeah, well that's evil for you, as everyone loves to remind me." Jack sighed, then flashed his trademark Evil Grin. "But that's just fine, 'cause Jack Spicer works best alone. Evil lone wolf, that's me. I don't need anybody anyway. I'm-"

A knock at a door high up in the lab interrupted him. "Jack, dear!" a feminine voice called down. "Dinner in five minutes! Make sure you wash up all nice and sparkly clean!"

Dashi watched with interest as Jack's eyes met his own. The teenager's face went whiter than ever (Dashi was rather surprised at the possibility of this), then quickly switched to bright, deep red. The ancient monk privately wondered if the boy's face would perfectly match his hair in a moment. _That_ would be impressive.

"I'll be right there, Mom," Jack called back rather miserably, his eyes never leaving the ghost as he edged over towards a sink. Dashi's smile remained entirely inscrutable.

"Listen, it's expensive to live on your own," Jack whined, washing his hands. "I can't just go live in a cave or something and still build my robots! Besides, I- you've gotta be eighteen to rent an apartment around here. It's the law," he said, glaring defensively.

"Makes perfect sense to me," Dashi agreed with a grin.

"Yeah? Yeah! It does. So… I'm going to eat. Don't- Wait, what am I saying? Get out of my lab and don't come back!" Jack scuttled to the top of the stairs and struck a pose before exiting with a suitably dramatic slam of the door.

Dashi laughed delightedly, swirling over to a Robo Jack head.

" 'It's the law'?" he asked the head in Jack's high tone. "Are you kidding me? And attempts to turn this kid good have actually _failed_? What'd they do, ask once and give up when he said no? Give me a couple days, two weeks tops, and he'll be begging to leave the Heylin side."

He grinned and faded out.

The robotic eyes flickered and dimmed, then darkened completely.


	3. Chapter 2

**Now and Then**

Notes: This is mainly a transition chapter. Not the most exciting ever. Sorry! More action next time, I promise!

Christy Hui owns Xiaolin Showdown and all its characters. I don't.

**Chapter 2**

"Okay, there'd better be nobody down here," Jack said threateningly. He looked around his Evil Lair. Nothing stirred.

"No one!" He checked under the stairs.

"Don't even think about hiding." In the cabinets.

"I mean it!" Under some heavy boxes.

The evil genius looked over his lab once more, and nodded in satisfaction. The creepy old monk had taken the hint. Good! At least _some_ people could. He stalked up to his bedroom, muttering resentfully about Wuya, Hannibal Bean, the monks, and just about everyone else he'd ever met. He shut his door behind him. And he screamed when he saw the yellowish ghost stretched out on his bed, reading a robotics magazine he'd left open. He'd gained some kind of black Chinese-style shirt (and Wuya was right about him being a sharp dresser), but it was the same ghost who looked up at his scream and flashed him a lazy grin.

"Hey, kid. This's some interesting stuff you're reading. Think of the Wu I could make with this!"

"What are you doing here!? I told you to hit the road!" the indignant boy genius snapped.

"No, you told me to get out of your lab," Dashi said patiently, grinning. "So I did what you said. Nice room, by the way. Love all the scroll-things."

"They're called posters, now get off my bed," Jack said with a frown. "Why don't you go bug those annoying Xiaolin losers, or somebody else who's good?"

"Why would I want to be around annoying people?" Dashi asked with a smirk. "Besides, you're pretty good company."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked in confused irritation. Dashi blinked.

"Um… just what I said. I figured a genius, evil or not, could-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not dumb, ya know," the red head muttered resentfully. "Now get off my bed."

Dashi complied silently, and watched intently as the teen flopped down in his place.

"You're in an awfully bad mood…" Dashi commented after a moment. "Get sent to bed without dessert or something?"

"No," Jack replied hotly, glaring at the ghost, then at the ceiling. "I just don't appreciate people invading my Evil Lair _or_ my room uninvited, and it seems like it happens an awful lot!"

"Hm, fair enough," Dashi conceded. He retreated to the door. "Mind if I come in?"

"You're already in," Jack pointed out irritably, turning over to face the wall and holding the magazine up to his face upside down.

Dashi stuck his head out into the hallway and made sure no one was around before leaving the room, and sticking just his face back in through the door. "Can I come in _now_?"

"If I say no, will it matter?" Jack grumbled.

"Sure," Dashi said reasonably. "If you say no, I'll go away. Leave you alone forever. You won't hear from me again. Promise."

Jack sat up, his face in the middle of a series of expressions. He stared at the spirit for a moment. "What do you want from me?" he finally asked.

"Not much. Company. It gets boring, being alone. I want to know about your machines, and go through some more of your reading material. Oh, and I may try to turn you away from evil now and then, to give fair warning. But of course, that's a choice that's entirely up to you."

Jack frowned, but not very strongly. "Well you can give up on that right now, because I'll never go good!"

"Oh no, I wouldn't expect that," Dashi assured him with a grin. "I just think it's pretty clear that you're more neutral than good or evil. Just my opinion, though."

"Hmph, what a load of crap," Jack muttered, tossing his magazine on the floor with some others. Then he looked up. "Well, are you gonna get your ghost butt in here, or leave it out there to scare my parents?"

The Grand Master grinned delightedly as he entered the room again. Maybe he'd been wrong about flattery being the quick and easy way to get to Jack, but it was still going to be painfully simple.

"Hey, you never answered my question," the evil boy genius said, watching the ancient master closely. "Why aren't you haunting the Xiaolin losers?"

"Eh, I don't know that it'd be worth it," Dashi said with a shrug. "I've been to talk to Dojo a few times – we're good friends – but I don't know that I'd want to let the others know I'm around just yet."

"Why?" Jack asked, wide-eyed. Dashi shook his head a little. "I never cared much for being worshipped. I know perfectly well how great I am, I don't need to be mobbed with other people telling me. Besides, I've gotten used to being pretty much alone. Don't get me wrong, I love having a few people around, going out and partying for a while, having some fun, but not a whole clingy swarm of followers. Ya know?"

Jack nodded slowly, eyebrows raised. "Yeah, I guess… I figured you'd be more like Omi, but I guess you're not, really."

"Heh, I like Omi. Good kid. He'll be great some day."

"Yeah, maybe if he could get over himself," Jack snorted.

"Not necessarily," Dashi said, grinning. "My teachers used to tell me things like that when I was growing up, but I've gone fifteen hundred years without getting over myself, so I see no reason to try now."

Jack stared at him for a moment. "All you Xiaolin losers are just plain weird," he said decisively.

Dashi laughed. "Oh, and the Heylin side's normal? You see a lot of demonic beans, immortal lizard warriors, squid-looking ghost-witches, and who knows what else these days?"

"…And evil robots, fat ninjas, cat-girls, random forces of darkness, weird foreign guys… then there's me," said Jack with a rueful grin.

"Makes the Xiaolin dragons sound positively boring," remarked Dashi dryly.

"You've got _that_ right," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "Now I've got things to do. Homework, calculations, planning! Go… read my magazines or something." He waved vaguely at the pile on his desk. "And I'm not turning pages for you, so don't even ask."

"No problem," said Dashi. He floated over to the cluttered desk and called up a tiny breeze to flip the top magazine open.

"H-how'd you do that?" Jack asked in nervous fascination.

"Hey, I might be a fifteen hundred year-old ghost, but I'm still Grand Master Dashi," the spirit said smugly. "Not to mention the first dragon of the wind and the creator of the Shen Gong Wu. I can do these kinds of things. Where do you think I got most of the Wus' powers from, anyway?"

"You…?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Got it! A few things, like being pretty much intangible and a little shape-shifting, come with being a ghost, and if anything, I've become better with the wind than I was in life. But I could use various powers you'd recognize from Shen Gong Wu when I was alive, too," Dashi replied with a grin, sending a light breeze to blow around the boy genius and ruffle his hair.

Jack let out a muffled yelp, then gave Dashi a hard, appraising look that quickly became an eager grin. "You know, I could really use things like that in my plans."

"I'll bet you could," Dashi agreed, going back to the magazine.

"Er, I don't suppose you'd want to… maybe… join forces with me?" Jack asked hopefully. "Or, well, maybe not that, but at least help out a little with a thing or two? Sometimes?"

"Sure," said Dashi, looking up with a pleased grin. "And hey, you're a lot quicker on the uptake than Omi, tiger instincts or not. Took him almost an entire Showdown to figure out he could ask for what he wanted instead of trying to take it."

Jack blinked, and slowly a triumphant grin came over his face. "Ha! Of course I'm quicker than Cheeseball! I _am_ an evil genius!"

"Right, right," said Dashi with a laugh. "Just one thing. Whatever you've got planned, I really don't want anyone else to know I'm around if we can avoid it. Especially Wuya and the monks. Hannibal Bean's a little hard to food, and Chase Young would be too much to ask for. He already at least suspects that I'm around."

"Okay," Jack said with a shrug. He turned to the notebook on his lap and spent a good fifteen minutes scribbling and pausing before slapping it down and staring at Dashi.

"You don't want to turn me good, you're trying to join the side of Evil!" he exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at the Grand Master.

Dashi burst out laughing. "What? I'm doing nothing of the sort!"

"Then why'd you agree to help the Heylin side?" Jack asked warily.

"Weren't you paying attention?" Dashi asked with a chuckle. "I agreed to help _you_. Jack Spicer; the lone wolf, remember? No one else, and not the Heylin side in general. They do just fine without my help, I think."

"Just me…?" Realization dawned on Jack like a mushroom cloud on a bright spring morning. "Perfect…"

* * *

The scene in Chase Young's viewing orb darkened. The warrior had seen quite enough. No need to watch Spicer's happy dance. One of the tigers beside him rumbled questioningly.

"For now, we will only watch," the evil mastermind said, leading the defeated warriors back to his outer sanctum. "Dashi is a most skilled and… slippery foe. He's a puzzle, which makes him all the more dangerous. Why he would team up with Spicer is beyond me." He fingered a panther's ear thoughtfully. "But then, he always did enjoy being mysterious. Knowing him, he may be doing this simply to confuse someone… or more likely, to annoy Wuya."

After a moment, Chase Young let out an amused laugh. "Most interesting. Dashi's no fool, despite what the witch may think. This bears further observation…"


	4. Chapter 3

**Now and Then**

I'm actually much more of an introspective writer in general, but this is going to be pretty action-packed from here on out…

I own no cartoons. Christy Hui owns one, though.

**Chapter 3**

"It's actually a little more to the left," the breeze whispered in Jack Spicer's ear. Dashi, having taken the form of his element, was accompanying the evil boy genius in the Tunnel Armadillo to try to retrieve the Hadoku Mouse again. Dashi's senses were much sharper and more specific than Jack's detector watch when it came to locating lost Shen Gong Wu. The red-haired boy had affixed all kinds of lights both inside and outside the digging Wu, and the rapidly growing tunnel around them was almost as bright as the afternoon sun. Dashi merely remarked that that was a good idea. He hadn't commented on Jack's night light back in his room, but he could recognize fear and relief just as easily as he recognized Shen Gong Wu.

"I've gotta get this Wu," Jack muttered, looking determined.

"Looks like you're not the only one." As they broke through into the bottom of a deep gorge in the cave, they were greeted by the sight of the monks, a very large Hannibal Roy Bean with Wuya by his side, and Chase Young, who was baring pointed teeth in a snarl.

"Ohh," moaned Omi. "Jack Spicer! Why must you always run into the festival!"

"Crash the party?" Clay suggested after a moment of confusion.

"That sounds most painful," muttered the dragon of water.

"Whatever, baldy," Jack said, waving Omi away with a dismissive gesture. "Where's the Wu?" He opened the Tunnel Armadillo's hatch and jumped out, feeling Dashi's breeze go with him, and grabbed the burrowing Wu as it shrank down. This dislodged some rocks above Jack's tunnel, revealing a small gleaming object. Chase leapt for it instantly, but Raimundo managed to knock him back, and by then everyone was diving for it. When the dust cleared, all four monks, Chase, Hannibal, Wuya, and Jack all had a hand (or a tentacle) on the glowing mouse.

"Looks like we're gonna challenge just about the whole Heylin side to one big Xiaolin free-for-all," Clay said grimly.

"Not quite," Chase Young interrupted. "I fight independently this time."

"Yeah! Me too," added Jack. Chase gave him, or rather the air directly to the left of his head, a vicious look. Jack cringed slightly.

"Well then, what about you two forming a team," Hannibal drawled with a grin. "Seeing as y'all have _so_ much in common."

"Okay!" Jack agreed eagerly, turning to Chase for his approval. The dragon lord seemed about to disagree as he fiercely stared at the space next to Spicer's ear, but then he nodded curtly.

"Very well. This once."

"Yippee!" Jack gave a joyful leap. In his ears was almost imperceptible, but not unkind, laughter.

Chase Young rolled his eyes and Clay cleared his throat.

"Anyway… the game's High-Wind Hustle. First to reach the Hadoku Mouse wins. We'll wager our Shroud of Shadows, Longi Kite, Eye of Dashi, and Jet Butsu against your-"

"I will fight without Shen Gong Wu," said Chase coldly. "And frankly, I'm a bit disappointed that at your advanced status, you still feel the need to rely on your toys for everyday battles."

"That ain't-" Clay began.

"Chase Young!" shouted Omi, jumping in front of the startled cowboy. "We accept your challenge to fight without Shen Gong Wu!" Everyone else stared at him, aghast. A few groaned. "We have our Wudai weapons, of course. _We_ will be fine!" He flashed his friends a smile, then grinned a little nastily at Wuya, Hannibal, and Jack.

"That's not fair!" Wuya protested. "Chase took away my powers when he restored my physical form!" She glared accusingly at the ancient warlord, who merely shrugged, looking composed once again.

"Oh come on, that was so long ago," Kimiko said with a smirk. "You've had plenty of time to learn some new tricks. What do you do, spend all day staring in a mirror, wishing you'd found that eternal-youth soup before Chase?" Wuya glared murderously. Chase grinned predatorily, because that was not far from the truth.

"Hey, if you don't like the rules, you can leave any time," said Raimundo. Hannibal pulled Wuya in for a quick, whispered conference. Chase glanced at Jack.

"I do hope you're up for a… _wind_ showdown. Spicer," he said, watching his follower like a hawk.

"Wind! Sure!" Jack said quickly. "Got my helipack, got my Bubblebot Dispenser… I think I'm good!"

Chase sniffed and frowned. "I'm sure…"

"Very well, we accept the terms of your little game," said Hannibal Bean. Wuya still looked rather miffed.

"Let's go, then!" Raimundo shouted. The small cavern grew massive, with stalactites and stalagmites, patches of shadow and light, small geysers, side tunnels, and numerous paths of questionable footing. The Wu shone high on a pinnacle of stone.

"This 'Evil Lair' enough for you?" Jack whispered through clenched teeth. A small gust of wind gave an answering laugh for his ears alone.

"Gong Yi Tempai!" they all shouted, and took off. Jack immediately activated his helipack, and Raimundo called up the wind to fly on. Omi, Wuya, Hannibal, and Chase leapt into the air as well. A tornadic gust of wind blew them all back into a tangled heap. Meanwhile, Clay and Kimiko had teamed up to work their way along the ground. At each step, Clay made the rock floor grab his boots so he could remain standing. Kimiko held on and stayed behind him, using him as a shield from most of the wind.

"Bubble bots, attack!" called Jack, pointing at the two Xiaolin dragons as he squirmed his way out from under Hannibal. His robots swarmed out of an attachment on his wrist and grew to their normal size, only managing a few shots before the wind kicked up again. This time he and the others ducked down or behind various rock formations for protection. However, the shots distracted the earth dragon enough that the wind hurled him and the smaller dragon of fire into the wall. The bubble bots crashed into the rubble nearby.

The warriors of varying sides all began a slow creep as low to the ground as possible. Jack was having a hard time. He wasn't incredibly strong, and he was light enough that if he raised his head at all, a blast of wind could send him toppling end over end into the rocks behind him. Hannibal was clearly wishing for his Moby Morpher, but at least he had the weight to keep him from being blown away. Everyone else had little trouble passing the boy genius, who moaned in frustration.

"This isn't so bad," the wind whistled consolingly in his ear. "Stay low, but lift your head and pick up some speed or you'll never beat them."

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm having trouble just staying in one spot," Jack grated out through his teeth.

"Try," the voice in the wind murmured insistently. "You'll be okay this time." A breeze blew from behind him, ruffling his hair. Jack paused, then sighed in resignation.

"Okay, fine," he muttered, lifting his head and flinching in anticipation. But he wasn't thrown back. He could feel a different wind all around him as Dashi formed a small protective tunnel of wind. He grinned. "Can you manage if I'm crouched down low?"

"I suppose," said the wind.

"Great!" Jack got to his feet on a stalagmite, keeping the rest of his body as low as possible, and pressed a button on his boot. All-terrain wheels popped out of the soles and jets of smoke blasted out from the heels. "Ready?"

"Ready," responded the wind, sounding both amused and highly interested.

"Then let's go," Spicer said with an evil grin. Staying crouched down, he shot forward. He wavered as Dashi's wind adjusted to his speed, but then he easily wove around his creeping opponents. They gave him startled looks as they clung to the cave formations. Raimundo tried to follow him, with only minor success. The slope up to the Hadoku Mouse was steep and full of loose rocks, so Jack returned to a crawl. He vaguely heard shouting behind him, through the wind, but he ignored it. One more step and he could reach it…

"Ha! In your face," the boy genius crowed to the world in general as Dashi deflected a last blast of wind and Jack grabbed the Shen Gong Wu. The cave rumbled and shook as it shifted back to its original form.

"Congratulations Jack," Wuya purred, recovering quickly from her outrage. "_I_ always knew you could do it. May I see that for just a minute?" Her long fingers grasped at the Hadoku Mouse.

"Huh? Hey!" Jack indignantly pulled it out of her reach, then clutched it to his chest as Hannibal Bean loomed up on the other side. "Back off, get your own Wu. I won this and you're not getting your greasy, ugly hands on it." The wind whipped up around him, flaring his coat around his legs. He barely noticed the Xiaolin monks frowning and whispering amongst themselves as they stared at him.

"Come now, boy," said Hannibal with an evil grin. "This is no time to grow a spine. Just give it to me, and we won't hurt you… much."

Jack cringed as the giant legume moved closer, then blinked as the massive green and black lizard shot at Hannibal, knocking him to the ground. Its tail lashed, hitting Wuya at full force, its tip stinging Jack through his coat. He screamed, took a quick look around – the Xiaolin dorks were just disappearing down another tunnel – and reached into his pocket.

"Tunnel Armadillo!" he shouted, throwing down the Wu. As soon as it expanded to its full size, the evil genius jumped in, closed the hatch behind him, and was speeding back up the tunnel the way he'd come.

"Whew." Jack allowed himself to sigh and slump down in the seat, wiping his sweaty forehead with an arm.

"Nice job!" Dashi said approvingly.

"Ah!" Jack jumped. "Don't do that!" He frowned, then grinned. "Heh, with my brilliance and your wind powers, I can't lose!"

"Hm, I'm not sure your partner appreciated that quite as much as you do."

"Chase? Sure, he's fine. He even attacked Hannibal Bean and Wuy when they were gonna jump me, you saw it."

"Oh he didn't want any of them to have it," Dashi agreed, the breeze brushing against Jack's ear. "But he didn't really want you to have it either. You're just… the lesser of all the evils."

"Hey!" Jack glared at the air next to him. "There's nothing lesser about me! And anyway, Chase isn't that interested in Shen Gong Wu. I've brought him loads before, he doesn't care."

"Maybe so, but think about it," Dashi urged. "Why would the Hadoku Mouse interest him?"

Jack stared blankly at the space the breeze was speaking from. "Uhh… wanna give me a hint? Chase Young isn't known for making mistakes he needs to fix."

"No," agreed Dashi patiently. "But what about from the others' point of view? Don't you think the Xiaolin monks see Chase's switch from Good to Evil as a mistake to be fixed? I know for a fact that Omi does. And I'd be willing to bet that Hannibal Bean could do some pretty nasty stuff with the Mouse."

Jack let out a mildly startled whimper at that thought.

"Exactly," said Dashi with the wind's equivalent of a nod. "So Chase doesn't want that in anyone's hands but his own."

Jack was silent for a while, then he looked around with a frown. "Hey, but he was your friend, like you were telling me. Why-" Jack gasped. "You want _me_ to turn him good again!" he exclaimed. "Well too bad! I'm evil, and so is Chase, and that's the way we like it, and-"

Dashi had taken his ghostly form, and was shaking his head reluctantly. "As nice as that would be, no. The way he is now is the way he must be."

"I really don't get you, ya know?" Jack complained. "You say he was like your best friend, but you don't want him back. You say you want to turn me Good, or just about, but you help my Evil plans. You say _you're_ good, you're supposed to be just about the greatest Good there is, but you hang around _me_, just about the worst failure at Evil possible without being good! …Wait, that didn't come out right." Jack frowned, utterly perplexed, as they returned to the surface. "You… just don't make any sense at all!"

Something landed heavily on the Tunnel Armadillo's roof with a jolt, and ripped the hatch open.

"He rarely does," growled the reptilian Chase Young, reaching in and grabbing the screaming, gibbering Evil Genius by his collar.


	5. Chapter 4

**Now and Then**

It'll get a little angsty from here on out. Beware! Also, expect a new chapter at some point every day now, because I'm leaving town for the summer at the end of the week and don't have time to spread them out more. I'll post them as soon as I can get them typed up!

Disclaimers are annoying. See previous chapters.

**Chapter 4**

"Chase!" Jack Spicer squeaked, trembling. "Wh-what a nice surprise!"

"Hello there, Chase" Dashi said in a friendly tone, though his even-present smile was gone. "It's been quite a while."

"You stay out of this," Chase snarled. "And you!" He lashed his tail angrily, baring his teeth at Spicer. The redhead screamed as deadly-sharp claws ripped the whole right leg of his pants off, shredding the cloth until they clutched the Hadoku Mouse. Jack, who had been trying desperately to hold onto his modesty, found his hand pulled to the Wu as well. The great lizard growled in frustration as the Mouse glowed.

"Very well Spicer, have it your way. I challenge you to a showdown."

"But we just had one! I won! You were on my team!"

"I want that Wu, Spicer. Name your game. I only demand that you fight for yourself. No outside assistance. And I _will_ know." He flashed Dashi a hateful look. The Grand Master nodded his acceptance. Jack whimpered under his breath.

"You've got strengths. Play to them," whispered the breeze in his ear.

"Enough pep talks," Chase snapped.

Jack gulped and tried to steel himself to the task at hand. "Okay… then… Whoever builds the tallest tower in ten minutes wins the Hadoku Mouse." He smiled hopefully.

"Typical," the warrior muttered. Jack's face fell slightly, but Dashi gave him a nod of approval. The boy genius continued, rather flustered.

"My Monkey Staff against your-"

"I will fight alone," the reptile cut in.

"But- I was gonna say your Serpent's Tail, it'd be really useful for this," Jack tried. Chase hissed dangerously.

"I put up with quite a lot, Spicer, but pity is one thing I will not tolerate, particularly from you.

"O-okay! Just my Monkey Staff, then. Okay?"

"Fine. Get on with it," Chase growled, softly menacing.

"Right! Xiaolin Showdown!" Jack yelled, faltering a little at the end when Chase didn't join in. The plain stretched out around them, and a massive heap of building materials, boulders, rubble, and tools crashed down between them. Dashi watched from a distance as a large timer began ticking off the seconds above the pile, and the two set to work.

Jack activated the Monkey Staff, switched it to his tail, and screeched with newfound determination as he swung up and grabbed a welder's mask and blowtorch. He used a steel beam to lever some massive boulders into a pile, then he grabbed some beams and began welding them together.

Chase, meanwhile, was building faster and thinner. He reasoned that it only had to stand for ten minutes, so there was little reason to build a structure to last ten years. However, soon a tremor in the earth knocked his tower back down to the ground. He glared at Dashi, who just shrugged and smiled. The lizard growled and began again, glancing over at Jack's tower once or twice to keep track of his progress. Not to mention, Jack had more experience building things out of metal…

Jack hooted with laughter as Chase's tower fell near the three-minute mark. He was so far ahead, he was having a great time, and he was surpassing his hero for once in his life. And _without help_. It was amazing. Everything was funny. His tower was the single greatest piece of architecture ever to exist, and he wanted to make it even more incredible. He swung down to find some embellishments as he slowed his upward building, so he didn't notice Chase gaining on him. When a supernatural gust of wind attacked the towers, a few unimportant bits blew off Jack's tower. Nothing blew off of Chase's.

At seven minutes, Jack looked over to find that Chase's tower had somehow grown both sturdier and just a bit taller than his own. And it was still growing. The monkey screeched his outrage and swung down to grab more materials again. He doubled his speed, not pausing for decorations this time. The two worked steadily for the next three minutes. Both towers barely trembled at the next earthquake. Jack almost lost his footing when another blast of wind rocked the towers, but his foot grabbed the Monkey Staff so his longer tail could swing out and wrap around a pole. The two towers were growing neck and neck as the last few seconds ticked away, and Jack quickly welded the tallest metal piece he had on hand to the top-

Lightning broke across the sky, and the timer flashed "WINNER" with an arrow pointing to Jack's tower. The evil monkey genius screeched his triumph to the world as the plains contracted again, and the towers rumbled back to the ground before vanishing.

"Oh yeah! I am the greatest evil genius who ever lived!" shouted Jack as the Hadoku Mouse dropped into his hands once more.

Chase growled resentfully, making the boy drop the Monkey Staff and return to human form.

"Ah… do you… want it, Chase?" he stammered, offering his idol the Hadoku Mouse.

"Of course," said Chase irritably, returning to his own human form. "I wouldn't waste my time on something I didn't want."

"Well… you could've just asked me," muttered Jack, looking down. "You know I'd do anything you want."

Chase was instantly right in front of him. "Give me that Wu, Spicer. Now."

"No need to be rude now, Chase," Dashi commented as Jack flinched a bit.

"Very well, Spicer," he snarled, dripping acid sarcasm from every word. "_Will_ you give me that Wu?"

"Of course," Jack said quickly, handing Chase Young the Hadoku Mouse. It quickly disappeared into the ancient warlord's armor. Dashi noticed his eyes flash with relief for an instant.

"If you knew what could be done with that, Spicer…"

"I know. Grand Master Dashi here says that the monks'd stop you from ever turning evil. And Hannibal would probably have something even worse up his sleeve."

"Indeed," Chase said, casting Dashi a dark look. "I would rather not trust you with it, particularly not with _him_ haunting you for some ungodly reason."

"I wouldn't have let him use it against you," Jack protested loyally. Dashi was also shaking his head.

"Hey, I miss you more than you know, old friend," he said, looking rather miserable. "But I know _that_ life's over for both of us."

"You know, Hannibal Bean mentioned an interesting theory when we were working together all those years ago," Chase spat out. "He suggested that you always knew I would be claimed by evil, and that you could have stopped it if you'd had even the faintest desire to do so."

"That's not entirely true," said Dashi, who wouldn't quite meet his former friend's eyes. "I knew the balance of Good and Evil was shifting, since Wuya had been locked away. I didn't know how, or who…"

"You must have known how likely it was to be one of us," Chase hissed. "You were never stupid, Dashi." Jack thought he almost saw a spark of betrayal in his hero's golden eyes.

"I… suspected," Dashi admitted, still looking down. "I chose duty to the balance over duty to my friends. I've often questioned my choices. If you think I was wrong, you now hold the means to fix it." He looked up with a slightly sick-looking smile.

Chase studied him carefully. "As you said, that life is over now," he said quietly. He watched the two for a short moment before turning and walking off towards the mountains in the distance.

Jack stood there awkwardly, mulling over what he'd heard.

"We'd better get back to your house, before your mom fixes dinner," Dashi said with clearly forced cheerfulness.

"Yeah…" Jack mumbled. He returned to the Tunnel Armadillo, found that the top would snap right back on, and changed it back to pocket-size before grabbing it and the Monkey Staff and letting his helipack lift him into the air. Dashi faded into the wind and followed in his wake.

"Hey, at least I won, huh," Jack said after a while, smiling hopefully. There was no answer. "Um, thanks for your help in that wind showdown… I guess. …I couldn't've done it without you!" Nothing. "You don't mind that I gave Chase the Hadoku Mouse, right? Er… 'cause it's too bad if you do!" Still nothing. "Are you even there?" the redhead asked hesitantly, looking behind him. "Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad," the wind sighed in his ear almost inaudibly.

"Oh." That was a relief. "Uh… You know, when he's in a better mood, maybe you can try talking to him again."

"I don't know about that."

"C'mon, he loves being evil. Even if it's your fault, you did him a favor!"

"He doesn't even completely believe that _now_."

"Aw, he was just trying to make you feel bad. Probably doesn't know what to say to you after all these years. That's just how he is," Jack said consolingly.

"Nice of you to try to make me feel better," Dashi said with a small laugh.

"I just hate being around depressed people," Jack said with a shrug. "I automatically get happier to balance them out, or something. I don't know. Anyway, I'm in too great a mood right now!"

"…'To balance them out'?" Dashi repeated. He gave a quiet but far more genuine laugh.

"What? Oh," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "Back to that again? Sorry, I'm still Evil, whether I'm around goody-goodies or other evil people."

"Maybe so, maybe so," Dashi conceded with a slight smile in his tone. "…And thanks."

Jack blinked and then grinned slightly, giving the air behind him a thumbs-up.

"By the way, that showdown of yours really impressed me. Very skillful. Honorable as they come, too."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't think of anything underhanded with that time limit."

Dashi smiled to himself at the lie. "Of course. You can't expect to be heartless _all_ the time."

"Damn right! …I hope there's cake for dessert," the evil boy genius mused to himself as he neared home.

Dashi grinned outright. The poor kid just didn't recognize what he was.

"So… you feel like telling me about you two in the past after dinner, maybe?" Jack asked cautiously, correctly interpreting Dashi's more upbeat mood.

"…Okay, sure," Dashi gave in after a moment. "In fact, I'll tell you about all four of us."


	6. Chapter 5

**Now and Then**

Mainly talking in this chapter, and I know there are mixed feelings on that, but it'll be okay, I promise.

**Chapter 5**

"Cake?" Jack offered, stepping into his room with a big piece of it.

"I wish I could, it looks great!"

"I know," Jack replied with a smirk. "More for me this way!"

"Ooh, low blow," Dashi complained with a laugh.

"That's me, heartless and terrible," Jack agreed happily. He plunked down on his bed and hunched over the plate so as not to spill crumbs as he ate.

"So… What's with the four of you you were talking about?" the boy genius asked cautiously, as if expecting Dashi to change his mind and not say anything after all. He had to admit, he was pretty curious.

"The first four Xiaolin dragons," the Grand Master explained. "I was the dragon of the wind, and the leader. Master Monk Guan was fire, Chase Young was water, and Wuya was earth."

"No way!" Jack rocked back and almost lost his cake. "_Wuya_ was good, back in the day?"

"Oh no," Dashi said. "Remember, I mentioned that the Xiaolin dragons are supposed to uphold balance, not just Good? Wuya was where evil entered into that."

"Wait, wait." Jack shook his head, frowning. "How would that even work? She's-"

"Evil?" Dashi supplied helpfully. "Yeah, it did kinda put a strain on our relationship. And obviously we weren't as close with her as today's dragons all are. But we did have kind of an understanding. She lived nearby rather than with us, and she'd come over to spar, or sometimes to share a meal or just to talk. We had to be careful, of course, and so did she. She's always been treacherous, but to be honest, I felt kinda bad for her. She was one of us, but at the same time she knew she could never be a trusted friend as the rest of us were. I think that's how things went bad."

Jack nodded slowly, munching on his chocolate cake. Dark icing was smeared across one cheek.

"She stopped coming over to talk. When I went to find her, she drove me away. She hung around Hannibal Bean more and more, and that's bad news for Good _or_ Evil. She started attacking us more, not just to try to steal scrolls or the Shen Gong Wu I was making, but real attacks for the sake of destruction. Chase and Guan decided it was time we go after her, that things were getting out of hand. And they were right, so I made a puzzle box that would bind Wuya forever. Obviously, I got it a little wrong," Dashi said with a slightly embarrassed shrug. "To tell the truth, I'm not sure I really wanted to trap her for long."

"Why?" Jack asked, mystified.

"She was evil, but she was a Xiaolin dragon. And my friend." Dashi sighed. "But as a Xiaolin dragon, and especially as the leader, I couldn't let my personal feelings get in the way of what had to be done. But… I did warn her. I snuck out one night, found her camp, and told her we were going to have to defeat her, but that I hoped we wouldn't have to hurt her. Of course she laughed at me and called me a fool. Said she had every intention of defeating and hurting us. Hannibal was there too, said she should kill me right then, but she threw me out instead. I like to think she was honoring our friendship rather than being stupid and cocky."

"You always think the best of people, don't you?" asked Jack with a vague frown.

"Not always. Just most of the time," the ghost replied. "It tends to bring out the best in them."

"Hm," Jack muttered noncommittally, licking the crumbs off his plate and fork.

"So we made our plans, but something was a little off. You know how Dojo can sense Shen Gong Wu revealing themselves?" Jack nodded. "Well that grew out of his ability to sense the balance of Good and Evil shifting. We figured he'd be sensing a big shift to good if we succeeded."

"Hey, yeah!" Jack exclaimed suddenly. "If you were so worried about this balance, why'd you try to mess with it?"

"…Her evil really was out of control," Dashi said, though he looked mildly concerned about this. "We did it for the good of the world. Who knows if it was the right choice? But anyway, we all watched Dojo like hawks, figuring we'd see some strange reactions. And we did. Itching, tickling, rashes, boils, and periods where nothing seemed wrong at all. We didn't know what to make of it, and neither did he. But we went ahead with the plan, and captured Wuya. Things shifted in favor of Good for a while. But before too long, Hannibal caught Chase by himself, offered him eternal youth and superhuman strength. Said it was his destiny, you know the deal. And for one reason or another he accepted. He'd always been aching to prove himself, maybe he thought he could resist the evil part of it and just get the power. No one but the two of them knows if Hannibal actually mentioned it would turn him into an evil were-lizard."

"So _did_ you know?" Jack asked softly, settling his dishes on the floor. Dashi shifted uncomfortably in the air.

"All day, Dojo had been in excruciating pain. Guan and I figured there would be a new surge in Evil, to replace Wuya. We knew it was inevitable, even knew it _should_ happen. He mentioned that the new evil would have to have great strength, and we discussed all manner of demons while we tried to sooth Dojo's pain. Then Guan said, what if it were a person turning evil? I said they would have to be incredibly strong to replace Wuya and get this reaction out of Dojo, and most people weren't that strong. Just myself, him, and Chase. And of course then we both knew we had to find him. He was off meditating somewhere. So we crashed around through the woods trying to reassure each other that Chase Young was the definition of good, that he wouldn't let himself be corrupted… But when we ran out of comforting possibilities, all I could think was that the balance would have to be restored one way or another."

Jack nodded slowly.

"We found an overturned pot with the remains of a Lao Mang Long soup oozing out into the ground, a little blue cloth from his clothing, and the beginning of his path of destruction," Dashi said with a sigh. "I saw all the signs. I practically knew. There were a dozen ways I could've gotten there faster. But it was done. Guan was completely inconsolable for a while. It broke his spirit and his heart. He and Chase were the absolute best of friends. I didn't have time to mope as much, though I was pretty distraught, myself." He offered Jack a wan smile. "…But anyway, after a while we had to get on with life. Guan went off with the Sands of Time. Dojo and I stuck around the area, in between hiding Wu. Your friend Omi traveled back to find me, and I tied my spirit to the new puzzle box I made him. …Not so much to help trap Wuya, it could've done that without me being there. I needed an escape, and I wondered about the future. But then when he froze himself I decided I wasn't getting any younger, so I'd better get going if I wanted Omi to eventually have a temple to train at. Dojo and I wandered around and picked out some likely kids to train, plus a few random monks who happened to stop by. They helped build the temple as they learned. I'm buried around there somewhere, by the way. Just lay down for a nap under a tree one day and never felt like getting up. I've been able to keep tabs on the temple a little, because I put a lot of myself into it."

"So now you're here, in the temple, and…"

"…And just slightly in each Shen Gong Wu," Dashi finished with a nod. "But that's different, those bits of power aren't really part of me anymore."

Jack frowned, trying to stretch his tongue far enough to lick the smear of chocolate icing off his cheek. "Were you in the first puzzle box too?"

"Nah, I was there in the flesh for that one," Dashi said dismissively. "I didn't need to seal myself into anything for that."

"Yeah, that one came right open for me with no trouble, but I couldn't open the second one for the life of me," Jack said, finally wiping the frosting off his face with his finger and sucking on that. Dashi laughed.

"Like I told Omi, my puzzle boxes only open when the person who needs to open them opens them. You must've needed Wuya the first time. The second time I was watching, so I could see who needed to trap her the most." He shrugged. "The wind dragon seems like a good kid. He needed to redeem himself and save face in front of his friends."

"If I somehow needed Wuya back then, I don't see how I don't need her gone now," Jack muttered.

"I knew you did. But Raimundo needed it more." Dashi watched the still chocolate-smeared boy for a moment. "So tell me, why're you so hot on being evil?"

"Huh?" Jack looked up at the sudden change of subject and frowned. " 'Cause I don't want to be a goody two-shoes. Being good's for people who aren't strong enough to be evil."

"You really believe that?" asked Dashi incredulously. "But you've seen how strong good is. It completely beat Wuya twice. It defeats you and the others all the time, I know."

"Hey, we defeat them just as much," Jack pointed out heatedly. "Besides, Evil just keeps coming back!"

"But so does Good," Dashi pointed out. "They're balanced, like I keep saying. You can't have one without the other. If all the evil in the world was defeated, some of the good would end up turning evil to replace it, and vice versa."

"Maybe for the good side," Jack said with a smirk, "But I don't think you know the modern Heylin side very well if you think that!"

"I think you'd be surprised," said Dashi with that penetrating grin of his. "So Good obviously isn't any weaker than Evil. Any other reasons you prefer the Heylin?"

"It's just the obvious choice," Jack replied, spreading his arms. "All those Xiaolin losers are… well, losers!"

"Maybe sometimes," Dashi conceded, laughing. "But I think they still seem pretty impressive. Omi may be too serious sometimes, but it's not that bad. They seem like they have plenty of fun with life. Besides, the other Heylin don't treat you too well, do they?" asked Dashi in a wheedling voice.

"They're evil," Jack said with a shrug. "That's just how they are."

"Not true!" Dashi insisted. "Chase Young is the epitome of courtesy and respect… when he wants to be. Wuya and Hannibal can be the same way. But I have to say, I've seen more of that directed at the Xiaolin dragons than at you."

"That's- they're just trying to corrupt the Xiaolin dorks," Jack said. "I'm already evil, they don't need to trick me."

"No, they don't," Dashi agreed. "But shouldn't that mean that you deserve their respect and civility without needing to prove yourself?"

Jack opened and shut his mouth a few times, momentarily speechless and looking more perturbed by the minute. "That's just how Evil is," he finally said, clearly realizing that this wasn't the greatest argument ever. "They're always plotting against each other too, it's not just me!"

"Ah, but they only _plot_ against each other," Dashi said. And I'm sure they have strong feelings against each other too. That happens with any group working together." Jack nodded, the relief so apparent on his face that Dashi was almost sorry to continue. "…But still, when all's said and done, they have a healthy respect for each other."

"They-they're… huge, ancient, magical forces though!" Jack protested, his voice rising to a whine. "It's not my fault I can't compete with that!"

"No, not at all," said Dashi with a consoling smile. "But hey, you're an Evil Genius, remember? You do amazing things with robots, things your magazines say shouldn't be possible for another hundred years at least. You may not be in the others' league in most ways, but you fight to put yourself there anyway. I think it's admirable. And you're clearly a match for the others in the right situation. I would think you'd deserve a lot better than you're getting on the Heylin side."

Jack's smile had been growing, but it died at that. "Of course I do. But I wouldn't get it on the Xiaolin side either. I've tried it a couple of times. They give me all their chores, they make fun of me just as much, they don't trust me…"

"After how long, a few days?" Dashi cut in sharply. "Of course not, you were fresh from the evil side. The rest sounds more like hazing than actual torture to me. Just a rite of passage. That, too, would pass in time."

Jack glared at the spirit, looking rather hurt. "Well it's too late for that now. I made my choice. I'm evil, get over it. You've done a lot worse evil than I've ever done good, and you know it! If you don't like it, though, you can get out right now! I never wanted you here in the first place! Get out!"

Dashi was stunned. "…All right," he said quietly after a minute, and vanished.

Jack blinked and went over to cautiously wave a hand around where the Grand Master had been a second ago. Nothing.

"Hello?" he said hesitantly, looking around his room that suddenly felt empty. "Are you… still here? Hey, I didn't really mean it. You can stay if you want. I don't mind, really." The only reply was the soft, steady hum of machinery. Jack sighed slowly and went to turn on his night light.


	7. Chapter 6

**Now and Then**

This chapter didn't go the way I expected it to… but I kind of like what happened with it!

**Chapter 6**

The stiff wind blew far beyond the mountains and over the ocean. The one carried on it didn't want to meet anyone. He could only focus on the one thing he was trying desperately to forget. Jack Spicer's words rung in his figurative ears, reminding him of the evils he'd done. Telling him in no uncertain terms that he was not wanted.

A small rational part of his mind told him that he should go talk to Dojo about this. Or Guan, he would understand. But the ancient spirit wasn't in the mood. He let the wind take him where it would until morning.

* * *

A few sunrises later, Dashi had come to the conclusion that he should check up on his old friends and enemies. He told himself that he could see what Chase Young was doing with the Hadoku Mouse, but he didn't believe that for a moment. Loneliness had taken hold a while ago, and it was finally too much to bear. He did hope to go unnoticed for a while, but Chase appeared as soon as Dashi's breeze swirled into the dark citadel.

"I wasn't expecting _you_ here so soon," the warrior said with a frown.

"Looks like you were, or you wouldn't have come out to meet me," Dashi replied, taking his ghostly form.

"You delight in doing the unexpected," Chase countered. "I've come to expect it of you."

"Well, I've been missing my old friends. Besides, didn't you always tell me I spent too much time in the company of Evil? It's true."

"I see you finally tired of Spicer?" The warlord smirked. "Finally come to choose the great and powerful over the weak and pathetic?"

"Actually, Jack Spicer got tired of me first," Dashi shot back breezily and just a bit too quickly to make it as casual as he hoped. "So I thought I'd pay you a visit."

"Oh Dashi," Wuya said with a grin as she stepped from the shadows. "How the mighty have fallen. Dumped by Jack Spicer?"

"How _truly _pathetic," Hannibal Bean drawled from his perch on the chandelier.

"Hello Wuya," Dashi said calmly, ignoring both comments. "I see you're still powerless? And Chase, you were always so clean, now you're letting pests into your home?" He nodded slightly at Hannibal. All three glared daggers at him.

"We have a truce which, as I assured him, is _very_ temporary," Chase replied icily. Hannibal merely smirked at this. "We had some issues to negotiate when you were rude enough to intrude on my space."

"Oh don't let me stop you," Dashi said, waving his hands and smiling slightly. Chase eyed him, frowning.

"I don't intend to. Wuya. Watch my… guest." The armored warrior stalked out into the courtyard without waiting for Hannibal Bean.

"We must catch up later, Dashi," the demon said with a dry chuckle as he hopped down and followed Chase outside. Wuya turned to face the ghost with a suspicious expression.

"What are you _really_ doing here, Dashi?"

"I was in the neighborhood. It's good to see you again," he said with a smile. And it was. A nice change from a morally confused teenager, certainly.

"That's not what you said the last two times we met," Wuya hissed.

"That was different, you know that," Dashi insisted. It was business. Good and Evil, the eternal clash. That's what we signed up for. But it doesn't _always_ have to be like that. It wasn't when we were younger. It's just you and me here, and we were friends before…"

"Stop," Wuya said flatly. "It didn't work out before, and we both know why. You never got the fact that Good and Evil aren't just jobs we can go home from at the end of the day."

"Sure they are," Dashi coaxed, though he knew it was a losing battle. "It wouldn't be so bad. I'm a bystander now, not a Xiaolin dragon. We could-"

"No," the Heylin witch cut him off. "It might work for you. For a while. But not for me. I couldn't do that and still be who I am, who I have to be. Who I want to be. This is my path. I chose it, and I won't go back even a step." Her expression softened a bit and she stepped closer, leaning in to mime a kiss on his ghostly cheek. "…But while it lasted, what we had was well worth it. And if it makes you feel better, I know perfectly well that I drove you to trapping me. Both times. …And _you_ should know that you can never trap me forever," she said with a rather flirtatious wink.

"That's the way I like it," Dashi replied with a smile, his spirit feeling incredibly soothed. "So why _did_ you let Chase take your powers?"

"I didn't _ let_ him," Wuya said, frowning irritably. "When he used the Serpent's Tail and Reversing Mirror to make me solid again, he took them from me." She shrigged in resignation. "It's either have no body and a few powers, or have a body and no powers."

"Interesting choice," Dashi mused, gazing at her and the jungle cats who had gathered in the doorway behind her. "I wonder-"

"I said no," Chase Young growled as he stalked back into the room. Hannibal Roy Bean hopped after him. "Leave my domain at once."

"Now Chase, don't be hasty," Hannibal said with a grin. "I'll give you some time to think my offer over. But don't take too long, or I may have to take my business elsewhere. Say, to your friend the monkey-boy?" He grinned at both Chase and Dashi.

"Oh really," Chase laughed sharply. "Have you fallen so far that you'd even beg for _his_ help? Did even my useless housekeeper refuse you? You have to go to that idiot mortal?"

"Hey now, it's _your_ fault Wuya lost her powers," Dashi pointed out, feeling much more generous now that his hurt feelings had been appeased and much of the burden of his old guilt lifted. "And Jack Spicer has some formidable talents if you're looking for machinery."

"Stay out of this, Dashi," Chase hissed. "It's none of your concern."

"No, no. Do tell, Dashi," Hannibal chortled delightedly. "You always were a clever one. Maybe _you_ could find it in your heart of hearts to get me the Yin Yo-Yo or the Yang Yo-Yo."

"But you have the Ying-Ying Bird already," Dashi pointed out, smiling slightly. "Why would you need those?"

"I had to leave some things there when I came out," the bean said. "Things a little bigger than Ying-Ying could carry. What d'you say, Dashi?"

"Hm, sorry," Dashi said with a smirk, the condescension in his tone perfectly matching Hannibal's. "I just don't think your behavior's been too great lately. Maybe next millennium, if you're very good."

"I warn you," Hannibal said glaring balefully up at Dashi. "Don't underestimate Hannibal Roy Bean. I'm not playing games with you."

"Oh please," said the Grand Master, rolling his eyes. "What could you do to me? I'm already dead, but with all the skills I had in life."

"You Good folks always have a weakness. Usually another person." The bean grinned suggestively.

"Well let's see," Dashi said, pretending to think about that. "Two of your choices are right here, so you just tipped them off. Of the other… seven or so, they're always watching for you anyway. Not to mention, every one of them is pretty good with their self defense measures. And come on, I'm the wind itself. It's not like I can't be anywhere I want within minutes." He smirked confidently. "So threaten all you want, but I don't have any reason to help you."

"Hm," Hannibal grunted darkly. "If you say so. But I warn you, you _will_ regret this. You haven't seen the last of Hannibal Roy Bean."

"That _would_ be too much to hope for," Dashi agreed.

Hannibal smirked and leapt into the air as the Ying-Ying Bird swooped down, and landed on its back. The great cat warriors snapped at it, but a few strokes of its wings brought it soaring up into the air-

…Until a sharp gust of wind buffeted it from the rear, above, and the front. The bird screamed in alarm as it was forced down, and a waiting jaguar lunged up to catch it. The bird struggled to escape the cat's powerful jaws, but it was no use.

"Wuya, fetch me a cage. A small one." Chase and Dashi both grinned. Hannibal wormed his way out of the big cat's mouth, coughing and wiping off saliva.

"You just made yourself a powerful enemy, monk," he growled.

"If you recall, we've never been friends," Dashi supplied helpfully. The bean took a few long jumps to get out of sight.

Dashi turned back to Chase, who was giving him an appraising look. He gave the Grand Master a short nod as their eyes met.

"I think that despite your spat with Spicer, it would be beneficial if you return before Bean gets to him," the former water dragon suggested crisply. "Despite your bravado, you know he'll need help."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't want him to get hurt," Dashi said, half teasingly.

"Then be thankful that you _do_ know better," Chase said sharply. "Hannibal Bean should not be allowed to bring anything back from the Yin-Yang World. And I know for a fact that Spicer cracks easily under pressure.

"You're probably right," Dashi admitted. "I'll see you later, then!"

"Be careful," Wuya said with only a hint of her usual sarcasm as she returned with a small bird cage.

"Yes," Chase added. "Watch yourself, Dashi. I hoped you would have learned by now that letting things be is often far better than your well-intentioned meddling."

"I'll think about that. You two take care too," Dashi replied with a cheerful wave. He rose and became the wind again, riding the thermals back across the land and sea, to the Spicer residence.

"Hmph, snorted Wuya after a moment, as Chase took the Ying-Ying Bird and stuffed it into the cage. "Far needier than any self-respecting Grand Master should be."

"As so many humans are," Chase reminded her acidically. "But he's clearly still useful when he decides to be."

"…When he isn't sulking," Wuya added.

"Well, the same could be said of you," Chase said as he walked away with a smirk. Wuya paused, looked up to the sky, and then followed with the bird cage, pouting.


	8. Chapter 7

**Now and Then**

**Chapter 7**

"Jack Spicer!" The cry rang out across the Evil Lair. "We have come for your Shen Gong Wu! Foot them over."

"…Hand them over, Omi. It's '_hand_ them over'," sighed Kimiko.

"Yes, and that as well!" Omi glared as the Evil Genius straightened up from his intricate mass of wires and popped his goggles back up to their customary place on his forehead.

"Not in the mood today, Cheese Puff," he said blandly. "Sorry. Maybe tomorrow."

The four Shoku warriors stared at him blankly.

"You heard me, get lost."

"Come on," Raimundo complained. He ducked over and started to open Jack's vault.

"I said no!" Jack shouted. "Jackbots! Defensity!"

Swarms of robots whirred to life. They knocked the Xiaolin warriors back and surrounded them in a semicircle, leaving an escape route while at the same time obviously protecting Jack and the vault. An incomplete Robo Jack walked over and swung the safe's dial, undoing the combination, and leaned against the door smugly.

"What gives, huh?" Raimundo asked when it became clear that the Jackbots were not going to attack. "You're always spoilin' for a fight!"

"I told you, I'm not in the mood," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "Go away. Anyway, aren't you supposed to stand for peace and justice and all that crap? I didn't do anything to you, why're you harassing me at home?"

"We are most befuddled, Jack Spicer," Omi said, frowning suspiciously. "In our last showdown, your command of the wind was far superior to even Raimundo's. It seemed like the power of a Shen Gong Wu to me."

"Which would mean you cheated," Clay added.

"Oh yeah?" Jack retorted. "Well for your information, it wasn't any Wu. So get lost. Don't you have some training or something to get back to? I'm sure Master Fung has _plenty_ of chores waiting for you."

"But _why_ will you not have a showdown with us?" Omi protested.

Jack sighed. " 'Cause I wanna hang onto what Wu I've got! When I want a showdown, I'll come find you, don't worry. But not today!"

"I should say not," a familiar Southern drawl echoed through the lab. Something hopped down from a cable near the ceiling and onto Jack's head.

"Aah! Bug! Bean!" the evil genius screamed, frantically hitting and brushing off his head until he finally dislodged Hannibal.

"Moby Morpher!" the bean shouted on his way down. He grew to be a bit taller than Jack. "I do hope you don't mind me interrupting while you've got your little _friends_ over, boy."

"Th-they're not my friends!" Jack stammered.

"Really," said Hannibal, sounding entirely unconvinced. "That why you're having a nice little chat rather than getting whupped as usual?"

"Hey! I do _not_ get whupped! …usually," Jack complained.

"Of course not," Hannibal replied as he turned away from Jack, his condescending sarcasm more apparent than usual. "Now this's just perfect, because I was going to come find you all next. We can just cut out the middle man." Hannibal leapt at the nearest Shen Gong Wu. "Clay, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown. My Fist of Tebigong for your Yang Yo-Yo."

"I think you might just need a break from the action, partner," the dragon of earth said, scratching his head. "This here's the Third Arm Sash, not the Yang Yo-Yo."

"I am _well_ aware of that." Hannibal smirked. "But what _I_ desire is the Yang Yo-Yo."

"That sounds fishy," Raimundo said with a frown. "You wanna bring out your good side or something?"

"My dear boy, I was never burdened with a good side." He turned back to Clay. "Now, how about it?"

"I wouldn't if I were you," came a voice from Robo Jack's general vicinity. The robot blinked, looked around quickly, and then shrugged at his surprised creator.

"I reckon I can handle it," Clay said, cracking his knuckles. "Name your game."

"Just a simple staring contest, boy. First to blink or look away loses."

"All right then, I accept." Clay grinned at his friends and closed his eyes for a moment to center himself, not to mention moisten and relax his eyes as much as possible, before turning back to Bean. "Let's go!"

"Gong Yi Tempai!" A bowl-like arena rose around the two. Jack and the other three dragons were lifted onto opposite sides of a metal platform on the wall. Jack frowned slightly as a wind picked up and began to whirl slowly around the pair in the arena.

"You're paying for any damage in here!" he called to them. They ignored him, eyes locked and unblinking. The wind rose up to their waists. The Xiaolin dragons were cheering Clay on, and Jack had to restrain himself from joining in. Of everyone on the Heylin side, no matter how the others double-crossed him, Hannibal Bean really made him shiver.

And the wind rose again.

Specks of dirt and dust from every corner of the lab whirled furiously around the cowboy and the giant bean. Hannibal grinned and slammed the Fist of Tebigong into the floor. Jack flinched as the tiles cracked. One more punch sent shards of tile flying up at the earth dragon's face as the wind closed in on them. Clay quickly drew back as much as he dared, whipping out the Third Arm Sash to try to knock them away, but it was too slow.

Without warning, the wind blasted out from behind Clay's head, straight at Hannibal. The bean drew back too far, into the driving wind. Dust flew in his face, and the bits of flooring forced him to duck aside or lose an eye. The room flashed and there was cheering as the room returned to normal, floor undamaged. Jack let out a whoop of glee and slapped Robo Jack a high five as the Fist of Tebigong landed in Clay's hands.

"I _will_ have my satisfaction," Hannibal roared, lunging towards the Xiaolin monks. "_And_ my Yo-Yo!"

"I don't think so," a voice came from behind Jack. The evil genius whirled to find a familiar face floating a few feet away, grinning.

"Dashi!" he exclaimed incredulously.

"_Grand Master Dashi_!?" the Xiaolin dragons shouted.

"Dashi, put me down and let me go about my business," Hannibal Bean growled. "You are nothing but an insufferable busybody."

"Maybe so," Dashi agreed amiably. He turned to flash a smile at Jack – he'd actually missed that neurotic kid – before focusing on the monks. "I don't suppose one of you _does_ have the Yin Yo-Yo or the Yang Yo-Yo on you?" They all shook their heads mutely. "Well then, we may have to take a little field trip. Hannibal Roy Bean here wants to go to the Yin-Yang World, and I think we should supply him with a one-way ticket, don't you?"

Realization dawned and the monks nodded, their grins positively evil.

"Well call Dojo, he's probably napping," Dashi said. "The three of us will follow you to the temple."

"Wait, three?" Kimiko looked rather disturbed. "You're not saying we should bring Jack Spicer, are you? Grand Master Dashi, he's on the Heylin side, he's not one of us!"

"Sure I'm including him. We're a team, he and I. As long as he wants to come." He looked at Jack with just a hint of apprehension.

"Heck yes!" Jack exclaimed quickly. Dashi smiled in satisfaction.

"We are greatly looking forward to hearing your wisdom, Grand Master Dashi," Omi said hopefully as the monks climbed back through the window where they had entered.

"Oh I've got a lot to tell you," Dashi replied. He turned back to Jack as the teenager pressed a button on the wall, opening some large doors that Hannibal Bean could fit through. He turned on his helipack and rose into the air next to Dashi. Hannibal could be heard thrashing and muttering behind them as they flew.

"Hey," the spirit said after a moment. "Sorry I left the other night. There was no reason for me to get so upset. I hope you don't mind me coming back."

"What? Oh, no!" Jack said quickly. "I-I just got carried away. I shouldn't've said all that. I didn't really mean it."

"So no hard feelings, then?" Dashi asked.

"Nah, I'm not mad," said Jack. "Where'd you go, anyway?"

"Just here and there. I went to see Chase and Wuya. That was nice. Hannibal was trying to get Chase to help him, and when Chase said no, he mentioned that he might try you next."

"So you did help Clay in that showdown?"

"Sure did! I couldn't let Hannibal get what he wanted."

"Ha, you're such a cheater," Jack said with a grin. "You're probably worse than me!"

"Hey, hey, I made the Wu, and the showdowns are pretty much mine since they involve Wu at every level. I don't think it's cheating for me to get a little more involved."

Jack just smirked, following the undulating dragon through the sky. "So much for not letting people know you're here, huh?

"Yeah, it was probably past time anyway," the ghost replied. Hannibal tried to jerk to the side and burst out of his airy captivity, but Dashi easily shoved back against his efforts. "And by the way, you were right about Chase just trying to make me feel bad before."

"Of course." Jack rolled his eyes. "He does that all the time."

"And here I thought it was just a lie to make me feel better!"

"Huh, not likely!" Jack flashed Dashi a teasing grin. "Evil Emperors of Darkness don't go in for those kinds of things."

"Oh, so you've upgraded from prince to emperor now?" Dashi snickered, then smiled fondly at the red-haired boy. "Ya know, I really missed you, kid. You're all right, for an evil genius."

Jack rolled his eyes while still managing to look like he'd never been so pleased in his life. "Yeah, well, I know. But I was a little worried you wouldn't have the sense to come back. I'd be pretty pissed off if I had to go looking for you."

"I'll keep that in mind. But you know, when Hannibal went off talking about getting you to do his dirty work, I couldn't let him get away with that. Even Chase agreed with me."

"Wow, really? I-" Jack had to swerve to avoid crashing into Dojo as the dragon suddenly reared up and went into a dive towards the Xiaolin Temple. "Hey, what's the deal?"

"I think they already have company," Dashi said, following Dojo down. Jack trailed behind, and Hannibal brought up the rear. As they neared the courtyard, Jack saw what had caused the dragon's sudden descent.

Master Fung stood in the doorway to the Shen Gong Wu vault. Chase Young stood in front of him, watching their approach quite calmly.


	9. Chapter 8

**Now and Then**

Well this is it… I hope you've had fun! Thanks for all the reviews, you're all amazing.

**Chapter 8**

Raimundo was the first to dismount, scowling, but Omi hopped over him and landed in a threatening pose.

"Chase Young! Why are you here, desecrating our most sacred temple? Have you come to steal our Shen Gong Wu? To try once more to turn me to the Heylin Side? If so, you will be _most_ disappointed!"

The dragon lord smirked, looking down his nose at the monks. "Not today, little one. I'm merely making sure that everything is going well." He glanced up as Dashi, Jack, and Hannibal touched down. "You seem to have things in hand here as usual, Dashi."

Dashi gave an answering smirk and a short nod. Master Fung's eyes widened at the name. The spirit floated over to him.

"Fung, right? I've heard good things from Dojo about you." The now-tiny dragon wriggled over to hug the old monk's ankle and smile up at his ghostly friend. "Mind if we borrow the Yin or Yang Yo-Yo? We've got some garbage to get rid of." Hannibal Bean tried to lunge at Jack Spicer, but Dashi set him to spin in place. Jack screamed anyway, and leapt to latch onto the nearest person, which happened to be Chase Young. The older man gritted his teeth until Jack laughed nervously and quickly stepped away.

"Of-of course," said Master Fung, clearly rather shaken. He disappeared into the vault. The other old monks praying there stuck their heads out slowly to get a glimpse of their temple's founder. The Grand Master just smiled and gave them a little wave.

The Xiaolin dragons were just as eager.

"Grand Master Dashi! How'd you make all the Shen Gong Wu?"

"Master Dashi, what do you think of the temple?"

"Do you think you could show us some of your great moves?"

"It is _such_ an honor to have you here!"

"Yes Dashi, please do tell us your _whole_ life story," Hannibal Bean called derisively, crossing his tentacles in frustration as he continued to spin. Chase Young rolled his eyes at them all.

"Sure, it's great to meet you all, I'll tell you whatever you want in a minute here." Dashi looked up as Master Fung reappeared with the Yin Yo-Yo. "Ah, perfect timing! Who wants to do the honors?"

A fight instantly broke out.

"I'm the leader!"

"Nobody cares, Rai! Let me do it!"

"I wanna nab the varmint!"

"You are all mistaken! It should be me, because I have seniority over each one of you!"

"_If_ you can all stop squabbling," a crisp voice broke through the yells. "I will do it." Chase Young stepped over to Master Fung and plucked the Yin Yo-Yo from his hand.

"But-"

"Chase Young!"

"You can't!"

"Yin Yo-Yo!" Chase called, flinging it out and opening a spiraling portal in front of them. "Dashi. If you would?"

"Glad to," replied the spirit. A strong wind sent Hannibal hurtling at the vortex.

"You haven't seen the last of Hannibal Roy Beeeeaaaannn!" screamed the beast as the rift closed behind him. Before the monks could say another word, the ancient warrior dropped the Yo-Yo back into Master Fung's startled hands.

"My business here is done." He turned to leave, giving Dashi one last nod before jumping up to the top of the temple wall and then making a super-human leap out of sight.

"As long as I live, I don't think I'll ever understand that fella," Clay mused, watching the horizon where Chase had disappeared. "He's more confusin' than a calf with two heads."

"Master Dashi! Will you please share with us your great wisdom now?" Omi asked eagerly.

"Sure kid, if you want. You'd better gather up all your monks, because I don't make repeat performances."

As the young dragons ran off to round up the temple's monks, Dashi turned to Jack.

"So I guess that's it, huh?" The evil genius was trying to manage a cheerful grin. "You gonna be hanging out here for a while?"

"For a while," Dashi agreed. "But I'm sure I'll see you again soon. Unless you want to stay for a while too? I'm sure I could talk them into letting you."

"Nah, I've probably heard it all before." The redhead started up his helipack.

"Probably," Dashi agreed, sending a warm gust of wind to whirl around Jack. "See you later then, kid."

"Yeah, see ya!" Jack lifted off and quickly picked up speed, the wind racing through his hair. Dashi smiled and went off to follow the monks.

* * *

Er, okay! See you later, Chase!" Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius, got up and brushed himself off, wincing as he looked down at the ruined helicopter blade hanging down by his arm. It had gotten smashed in Chase's door.

"Um… You wouldn't consider giving me a ride home, would you?" It would be a long walk, even if he called his Jackbots to pick him up halfway.

"Sure, hop on," a voice said in his ear. Jack screamed, leaping up onto a low tree branch for protection. Dashi was floating next to where he had been, grinning.

"You! What're you doing here? Didn't you go off to live with the Xiaolin losers?"

"Live with them!? No, no, I just went to _talk_ with them! And man, can they talk up a storm! Raimundo finally fell asleep, and I told them I'd be back another time."

"Oh… Oh!" Jack smiled hugely. "So you're coming back with me again?"

"Yep! I might end up going back and forth between you, them, and here, but I'll always be as close as the next breeze if you need me. Besides, we make a good team, you and me."

"Darn right!" Jack shivered happily, then flashed the ghost an appealing smile. "So… you gonna give me a lift?"

"Of course! Let's go." The wind whipped up around Jack and shot him high into the air. The boy genius screamed and flailed.

"Relax, I won't drop you." Dashi laughed, leaning over towards him. "You'll be fine, trust me. The rest'll be smoother than that."

After some cringing and whimpering, Jack managed to get more comfortable in the open air, with nothing tangible holding him up. "Okay," he said cautiously.

Dashi grinned, and the wind carried them both at a steadily increasing speed. Jack's cries soon turned to whoops and laughter. They looped, spiraled, and zigzagged through the air until Jack was laughing so hard that he was having trouble breathing. They evened out for a leisurely float the rest of the way home.

"So what'd you talk about with the monks?" Jack asked, unable to stop grinning.

"Oh, lots of things. Omi was pretty disappointed to find out that my element's wind. They were all pretty shocked to hear that Wuya was the first dragon of earth, and evil to boot, but I didn't go into that in as much detail. I think all the older monks nearly had a heart attack and died happy."

"Do you still not like fans?" Jack teased.

"Nope, still don't," Dashi said. "But I can take it for a little while. It's good for them to get to bask in my presence now and then."

"Heh, did you mention who _else_ has been basking in your presence?"

"Yeah, they didn't think much of that." Dashi shrugged. "But I put in a good word for you, and coming from me, that counts for a lot. If could probably ask to have you join them, and they'd give you more of a chance than before. If you want."

Jack watched as his house appeared on the horizon. "I don't know. Probably not, though. I mean, we make pretty good enemies, ya know? We don't actually try to kill each other, and having rivals keeps us all on our toes."

Dashi burst out laughing. "What?" Jack demanded.

"Just you! You're so funny sometimes! But I agree completely, you've got a decent relationship, for enemies. You can still help each other out now and then without really betraying your standards."

"_Oh Jack, you're so neutral_," the redhead mocked in a high voice, rolling his eyes and moving his hand as if he had a puppet on it.

"I know, you're sick of it." Dashi laughed slightly. "But it's a good way to be. I was tied to Good all my life, and I'd never join the Heylin side, but it's nice to finally be able to do things with either side without having to worry that I'll have to fight them the next day."

"Does that mean you're friends with Chase and Wuya again?"

"Oh, not quite. But we're not bitter enemies, that's what counts. So the future has potential."

"It figures you'd want to double-dip to get everything."

"…You're a weird one, Jack Spicer."

"What d'you mean by _that_? Anyway, look who's talking!"

"I'm not the one who wants to rule the whole world. What's wrong with just Iceland, or Fiji?"

"Hey, at least I know what I want!"

"So do I."

"Heh, yeah, you wanna have the good side _and_ the top evil villains. You know it's all about Chase and Wuya! HA HA! GRAND MASTER DASHI LIKES CHASE YOUNG AND WUYA!!"

"Yeesss… We've been over this before."

"Well Chase already goes for monks, but you'll have to work at it to seduce Wuya…"

"I'm _so_ glad you're helping me with my love life now, Jack. Tell me, how's yours going?"

"You- Wha!?"

"Oh don't worry, I've seen your devotion to Chase. I wouldn't think of stealing him from you. We should go visit him again tomorrow, I'm sure he'd _love-_"

"Shut up, shut up!"

"Hey, your face _can_ match your hair! I was wondering about that!"

"If you don't-"

"Jack, sweetie! Are you in your room? Dinner's ready!"

"Don't worry, Jack-sweetie. Your mommy loves you!"

"…Just shut up, okay?"

"Of course."


End file.
